Christmas TV

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From the Burgermeister Meisterburger to 24 hours of A Christmas Story, you need to be in the know as to when to tune in.

FRI., DEC. 17
‘Santa Claus Conquers the Martians’ – The 1964 flick, a ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000′ fave, is considered one of the worst movies ever, which makes it a must-see, of course (3:45AM, TCM)

‘Christmas in Washington’ – Ellen DeGeneres hosts, while Mariah Carey, Matthew Morrison, Andrea Bocelli and Maxwell perform at the annual D.C. holiday concert, which includes President and First Lady Obama in the audience (8PM, TNT)

‘Yes Virginia’ – Neil Patrick Harris and Jennifer Love Hewitt provide voicework for this ‘toon special about the famous “Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus” letter, and for which, apparently, you had to have three names to be involved (8PM, CBS)

TUES., DEC. 21
‘Living in the Time of Jesus’ – This fascinating three-part series uses input from biblical experts, archaeologists and other experts to examine ‘Making a Living’ (8PM), ‘Healing the Sick’ (9PM’ and ‘Crime and Punishment’ (10PM) 2,000 years ago (8PM, NGC)

WEDS., DEC. 22
’12th Annual A Home for the Holidays’ – Musical performances and real-life stories of adoption pepper this touching special (8PM, CBS)

FRI., DEC. 24’24 Hours of A Christmas Story’ – Triple dog dare you to not tune in for at least part of this marathon, which should be a part of everyone’s annual holiday traditions (8PM, TBS)

‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ – The classic that topped AFI’s list of the most inspirational American movies ever is never more powerful than in its Christmas Eve airings (8PM, NBC)

MON., DEC. 27-31
‘Back to the Future Leads AMC Into 2011′ – Each night, beginning tonight through Dec. 30, the network will air all three installments in the ‘Back to the Future’ trilogy, back-t0-back, followed by an all-day marathon on Dec. 31, from 10:30AM-4AM. That’s a lot of Michael J. Fox, which, we can all agree, is a fine, fine way to start the new year (6PM, AMC)

TUES., DEC. 28
‘Rudolph’s Shiny New Year’ – The sequel, because the original ‘Rudolph’ was just that good (8PM, ABC)

THURS., DEC. 30
‘Happy New Year, Charlie Brown’ – The class assignment for holiday break: Read ‘War and Peace’ and write a report on it. Guess who doesn’t get his done until the night before it’s due? (8PM, ABC)

FRI., DEC. 31
‘New Year’s Eve With the Marx Brothers’ – If only we could travel back in time and actually spend NYE with the Marxes … alas, this seven-movie marathon is as fun a way to ring in the new year we can think of short of that, especially since it includes ‘Duck Soup,’ ‘Animal Crackers’ and ‘A Night at the Opera.’ And two hard-boiled eggs. Honk! Make that three hard-boiled eggs (8PM, TCM)